Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar opens a Snapchat account

Source: MIA.

The Museum of Islamic Art i(MIA) n Doha, Qatar has started a Snapchat account to showcase the museum, collections, special exhibitions and more.

Snaps are only in Arabic for now, the museum said on its Facebook page.

Interested?

Follow the Snapchat handle MIAQatar

Read the Suroor Asia blog post about the MIA's exhibition on Qajar women

Fancy your tea on TV?

Lipton is running a social media promotion over Ramadhan, from iftar to suhoor, with the hashtag #teamoments.

The tea brand invites tea lovers to share their #teamoments on social platforms like Twitter, Vine, Facebook, and Instagram. Videos and pictures will be automatically entered into a draw for an iPad and the chance for your #teamoments to appear on TV in the Lipton Eid TV commercial.

Pictures or video which has already been uploaded can be seen here (click on 'moments' on the left).

Al Hilal Bank conducts social media-based Jood Bil Khair campaign

Al Hilal Bank, an Abu Dhabi-based Islamic bank, announced June 26 that it will be conducting a 'Jood Bil Khair’ (do good) campaign this Ramadhan where will match AED1 with each public post or hashtag at its social media network as well as shared videos related to the campaign. 

The amount accumulated will be transferred from a special ‘Al Hilal Charity’ account to over 10 charities across the country.

Under the partnership agreement with Shaabiat Al Cartoon, a popular Emirati animated TV show, the 10th episode to be shown during the Ramadhan season will feature Al Hilal Bank. The plot focuses on how Afary, the heroine, teaches her brother Mohair the advantages of saving money in a bank (through an Al Hilal Seghaar account) rather than just keeping it at home. A contest to be held on social media afterwards will award prizes to participants who correctly answer questions about the special episode.

Source: Twitter.

“We at Al Hilal Bank always come up with unique ways to complement the spirit of giving and genuine compassion that Ramadhan embodies. This year we have a unique opportunity to send across Al Hilal Bank’s message to a broader audience through one of the country’s popular television shows. As in everything else we do, our passion for community works during Ramadhan and throughout the year reflects the sense of social responsibility, innovation, and excellence that has differentiated us in our industry,” said Mohammed Jamil Berro, Group CEO, Al Hilal Bank.

‘Jood Bil Khair’ is one of four main pillars of Al Hilal Bank’s Ramadan 2014 initiatives which will also emphasize joy, health and religion, reflecting the bank’s belief that Ramadhan is a period of giving, praying, family and well-being. Al Hilal Bank’s social media content will touch on these key messages throughout this year’s observance of Ramadhan.

Last Ramadhan, the bank collected a significant sum from its ‘Art of Donation’ campaign which collected smiles using special machines and converted them to cash for distribution to various charities.

Al Hilal Bank was established in June 2008 and is fully owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, the investment arm of the Government of Abu Dhabi. The bank is shari'ah compliant and operates through a network of 22 branches located across the United Arab Emirates as well as 3 branches in major cities of Kazakhstan. 

UAE's Zakat Fund takes to social network, supports e-payments

In the UAE, the Zakat Fund website offers more than 56 e-services for facilitating the process of paying zakat in line with the UAE government's push towards smart government services, the authority specialising in collecting money for zakat and charity and spending it on the eight legal channels of zakat disclosed.

Source: Zakat Fund

Those paying zakat can pay by credit card online, through ATMs installed in shopping centres in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and the Western Region, or through various online portals, including the official portal of the UAE government, the portal of the Abu Dhabi E-Government, and the official portal of the Dubai government, as well as the Etihad Airways portal, said H.H Abdullah ibn Aqeedah Al Muhairy, Secretary-General of the Zakat Fund.

H.H said, “The Fund offered zakat payers more than 2,000 ATMs owned by Islamic banks, more than 1,000 ATMs for fast collection owned by Max Box, the electronic collector...and other means which facilitate the process of paying zakat."

Other payment channels include mobile phone apps on both iOS and Android platforms, and SMS, he added.

The Zakat Fund's public outreach has a heavy focus on social networking, H.H also said. Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Google+ are all deployed to enable the public to follow on-going activities and initiatives and to act as a platform for queries, notices and complaints. 

H.H. disclosed that January statistics from the Arab IT News Portal stated that about 81% of UAE users use the Internet to log into social networking websites, representing 3 hours and 17 minutes of daily use each. 

Facebook is the most popular social networking platform used in the UAE, followed by Google+, then Twitter, Linkedin, and Instagram respectively. The study stated that 74% of UAE users have smartphones, which 38% use for e-shopping and 90% use for searching for local services. 

He further added that Zakat Fund, through its pages on social networking websites, aims to increase public awareness of zakat and transparency on the dealings of the Fund. 

*Pictures from the Zakat Fund website